state of the world's cities 2012/2013 - United Nations Sustainable ...

State of the World’s Cities 2012/2013Fostering Social InclusionUnequal income and unequal opportunities are the twomain underlying factors of urban inequity. They derivefrom biases in distribution at national level as well asdysfunctions at the local urban level. In this sense, inequityreveals a differentiation in the manner in which resourcesare allocated and facilities and services accessed. The maindriver of inequity often tends to be differential accessto employment as well as to public goods and services.Inequity in this respect reflects biases in the economicrealm which effectively concentrate a disproportionateshare of resources, services and opportunities in the handsof certain groups or individuals. A common response isthe consolidation of redistributive programmes, mainlyin the area of social welfare. In developing countries, thishas been complemented with the design of local economicdevelopment initiatives as well as poverty alleviationmeasures. However, it has become increasingly evident thatbeyond dysfunctions in the distributive systems, in bothdeveloped and developing countries, some systemic barrierssustain outright discrimination and alienation.Transcending poverty and deprivation, social inclusionas both a process and an outcome entails the removal ofbarriers to access to goods, services and opportunitiesas well as improved wellbeing and self-fulfilment. Thisgoes to show that social inclusion is not just reactive;rather, it recognizes theimportance of differencesand diversity, and harnessesCities willing tothe commonality of livedpolicy embrace sharedprosperity must also look and shared experiencesbeyond equity to ensure the to achieve positivepromotion of social inclusion societal ends.as a whole.To a substantialdegree, the urban protestmovements that werereferred to earlier in thisEquity is alsoReport have been aboutfact about social andpolitical relations among social inclusion (Chapterurban populations as well 1, Part 1). The rallying cry,as among government“We are the 99 per cent”,institutions and individuals is more of a reaction toand social groups. It is theexclusion and alienationrelational dimension whichthan a protest againstunderlies the degree towhich a city operates and poverty or deprivation.sustains as a collectiveWhereas equity in itsentity.primarily economicdimension is driven by‘macro’ and national policies, most interventions in favourof social inclusion take place at the local level. Therefore,urban authorities have a major role to play when it comes tomaking shared prosperity a reality within their jurisdictions.In European cities an abundance of initiatives have beenintroduced to promote social inclusion, and their benefitsseem to have registered in the UN-Habitat “City ProsperityIndex”. For example, the ‘Cities Against Social Exclusion’(CASE) programme illustrates the concerted efforts at localand regional levels to share experiences and improve localaction among a network of European cities.Typical interventions, such as in Stockholm, includeremoval of barriers to full engagement of women, youths,the homeless, the elderly and the disabled. In Vienna,an elaborate action plan involves systems for nondiscriminationat all levels, improved political and socialparticipation of all minority groups including migrants, andmeasurable monitoring of social diversity and integration.As Vienna’s mayor once put it, “Social cohesion and aclimate of respect are particularly important at a time whenwe all face new challenges. Good neighbourly relationscannot be enacted by law. The people who live in Viennaneed to come to an understanding and formulate mutuallyacceptable solutions.” 19Similar noteworthy experiences are emerging indeveloping countries where Medellín, Dar es Salaamand Kigali, for instance, have found effective ways ofenhancing prosperity based on relatively lower productivity,infrastructural development and quality of life. Medellín hasresorted to civic architecture and public spaces to furtherinclusiveness and the empowerment of otherwise marginalizedsocial groups. These groups benefit from expanded publicfacilities as infrastructure reaches out to them, improving notjust their sense of wellbeingbut also their capacityfully to engage with theAt the cityurban fabric. In Dar es policy level, socialSalaam, a conscientiousinclusion provides anenvironment whereplan for socially mixedindividuals feel theyneighbourhoods hasbelong to the largerbrought more inclusionwhole, have accessboth in space and into ‘commons’ and aresocial relations. In Kigali,free fully to engage ininnovative measures aim tocollective affairs. Socialinclusion involves aconsolidate reconciliationbroad set of variablesand integration as partas it hinges uponof the post-genocidethe socio-politicalreconstruction process.relationship.74